Objective of the role The purpose of the role is to strengthen the Platform with in depth knowledge on the Sonata system and to grow and mature the role of Sonata Subject Matter Experts. This enables the fast tracking of change and incident resolution. Key Responsibilities Work alongside the Platform Incident and Problem management team to analyse issues reported on the Sonata system . Recommend solutions for incidents and change and fast track the delivery thereof. Work alongside Major Incident team and take part in War Room discussions to assist with fast delivery or resolution Coach and mentor staff on subsystems of Sonata as shown by Trend analysis report on training required. Elicit requirements to understand business opportunities and apply critical and system thinking skills to assess impacts on our platform, process, and business teams. High-level analysis of business, system, functional, and non-functional requirements of changes required to existing systems and processes. Provide SME-level insights into the front end (Web), back end (Sonata), and other associated applications. Critically evaluate information gathered from multiple sources, reconcile information conflicts, break down high-level information into their constituent details, abstract up from low-level information to a general understanding, and distinguish user requests from the underlying true business needs. Produce high-level scope documents to be consumed by a feature delivery team with the defined business case (opportunity statements, success criteria, and known touchpoints). Work closely with internal Group-wide teams and external teams and vendors to deliver a successful outcome. Support and champion the execution of defined features, through consultations and requirements signoff ceremonies. Qualifications Relevant Commerce degree in Finance, Economics, Statistics, IT, Investment Management or Business Management or related fields. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Knowledge and Experience A deep understanding of Sonata and all its subsystems. General understanding of configuration management, sonata configuration experience a plus. Experience in working or building workflows, and related tools like (Sonata workflow subsystem, Bizagi or similar tools). Experience of calling web services – particularly SOAP. Experience of XPath/XML manipulation. Experience of using a modelling tool/language Visio, UML, BPMN etc. At least 3 – 5 years of experience on processing and or support processing on Sonata. Experience in delivering exceptional customer service. Experience in solving complex problems for customers. Experience in building successful relationships and working collaboratively across departmental teams. Experience working in a fast-paced, proactive, and delivery-focused environment. A deep understanding of investment and life products (to subject matter expert level). A deep understanding of South African Investment Platforms and platform operations. An understanding of financial services regulation as it relates to investment platform providers. Understanding or experience creating systems for Financial Advisers . Experience in working with a third-party vendor. Experience in building successful relationships and working collaboratively across departmental teams. An agile and inquisitive mindset. Demonstrable analysis, assessment and problem-solving skills and experience. Experience of facilitating business discovery workshops. At least 5 years of experience in an Investment Platform business, LISP, or similar. Computer Literacy (MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook, MS Visio), with MS Excel at least at intermediate level. JIRA and Confluence experience.  Communicating with impact : Communicates effectively in both the written and verbal format delivering clear, succinct messages. Customer service : Commits to achieving high-quality results and provides prompt, suitable, and personalised service to customers that meet their needs. Take personal accountability for delivery. Driving for excellence : Approaches work in an orderly and systematic manner to ensure the achievement of high-quality customer service. Analytical thinking : Understand a situation or problem by breaking it into smaller pieces and tracing the implications of a situation in a step-by-step way. Resilience : Responds to stressful situations calmly and proactively and keeps self and team focused on balancing personal energy with business results. Teamwork and cooperation : Cooperate with others to accomplish common goals. Persuading and influencing: The capacity to persuade, convince, and influence others to achieve desired results. Leading change : Continually seeks and encourages others to see opportunities for new and innovative approaches to solving organisational problems. Trust and integrity : Show sincerity, honesty, and consistency in words and actions.
